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If you're hoping to get the most bang for your buck once you cut the cord with your cable subscription, Sling is one of the most affordable live streaming services on the market.
The service has two packages with over 30 channels starting at just $30 a month. Though you may make some compromises in the user interface department — it's not as pretty or as intuitive as some other streaming services out there — the amount of channels offered is just as good as its competitors.
But Sling's website makes it a bit difficult to compare services and ensure you'll be getting the channels you're after, so we've broken down exactly what you'll get with each package and all the add-ons you can include to enhance your channel offerings.
Updated on 07/02/2020 by Steven Cohen: Removed channels no longer available on Sling TV. Added details about Sling's current free trial offer.
The two main packages — Sling Orange and Sling Blue — offer 30+ channels for $30 a month, or $45 combinedSling's two main offerings are Sling Orange and Sling Blue, each available to stream for $30 a month. For the most part, the channels largely overlap between the two, but there are a few key differences that might cause you to choose one over the other.
Disney and ESPN are included with Sling Orange. You don't get them with Sling Blue, but in their place, you'll get a slate of Fox-owned channels including FX, Fox Sports 1, National Geographic, Bravo, TLC, and Discovery. Blue also comes with NBC and its local affiliates, but only if you live in select markets — more on that later. The channels that overlap on both Orange and Blue include standouts like Food Network, Lifetime, CNN, and the History Channel.
If you're keeping up with the newest season of "American Horror Story" on FX, but you absolutely can't live without "SportsCenter" on ESPN, you might want to combine the two packages for $45 a month, giving you access to all 50+ channels Sling offers over the two services.
Sling Orange doesn't offer any local channels at all, so if you're hoping to catch your local nightly news, Sling Blue is the way to go. Blue offers local channels from NBC and Fox, but only in select cities. If you live in any of the following Designated Market Areas, you'll have access to both your local NBC and Fox affiliates: New York; Philadelphia; Chicago; Washington, DC; Dallas/ Ft. Worth; Los Angeles; and San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose. For a full list of markets supported by each station, check out the Sling website.
If you live outside any of the supported regions and you're really attached to your locals, you'll have to find another way to access those networks. Sling actually offers a solution for this via a special bundle it provides with an antenna and an AirTV 2. This bundle is available for new subscribers who prepay for three months of Sling service. The antenna allows you to pick up local channels via over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts. The AirTV 2 then allows you to integrate those channels with the Sling app on several supported devices.
There are plenty of add-ons starting at $5 a month if you're looking for specific genres or channelsIf you want to further enhance your channel selection, Sling offers a slate of genre-based add-ons starting at $5 a month. Each add-on, like Kids Extras, Sports Extras, and Lifestyle Extras, offers a mini-bundle of channels for an additional charge. Sling offers seven of these mini-bundles, which they'll package together and throw in 50 hours of DVR service for just $20 a month, a $20 savings compared to buying them separately.
Though HBO is no longer offered, there are still several premium add-ons you may want to tack onto your service. For $10 a month, you'll get a slate of nine Showtime channels — perfect if you want to stay up to date with the new season of "The L Word: Generation Q." Sling also offers a Starz package for $9 a month and an EPIX package for $5 a month.
If you're using Sling a la carte, the monthly charges per add-on can increase your rates pretty quickly, but if you're happy with its baseline Orange or Blue offerings, Sling is incredibly cost-efficient.
See below for a full breakdown of all Sling's channel offerings and add-ons, and click here to sign up and start streaming live TV.